APOD: 2025 November 21 – 3I/ATLAS: A View from Planet Earth
Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2025 November 21
3I/ATLAS: A View from Planet Earth
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Explanation:
Now outbound after its perihelion or closest approach to the Sun
on October 29,
Comet 3I/ATLAS
is only the third known interstellar object
to pass through our fair Solar System.
Its greenish coma and faint tails
are seen against a background of stars in the constellation Virgo in this
view from planet Earth,
recorded with a small telescope on November 14.
But this interstellar interloper
is the subject of an on-going, unprecedented
Solar System-wide observing campaign
involving spacecraft and space telescopes from Earth orbit to the surface of
Mars and beyond.
And while the comet from another star-system has recently
grown brighter,
you’ll still need a telescope if you want to
see 3I/ATLAS
from planet Earth.
It’s now above the horizon in
November morning skies
and will make its closest approach to Earth, a comfortable
270 million kilometers distant, around December 19.
Tomorrow’s picture: Dione and Rhea Ring Transit
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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